- Turkey: Regime uses NATO summit as excuse for mass abduction operation
Source: US News & World Report
“Turkish authorities detained 209 people in anti-terrorism operations on Tuesday, prosecutors said, a day after Ankara imposed restrictions on public gatherings ahead of next month’s NATO summit. Opposition groups said the raids were part of what they called a broader crackdown on democracy and civic freedoms in Turkey. The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said arrest warrants had been issued for 241 suspects under investigations into several militant organisations, including Islamic State and the far-left DHKP-C, MLKP and TKP/ML groups. It said 209 suspects had been detained and efforts to locate the remaining suspects were underway. … The operations came a day after the Ankara Governor’s Office announced a 13-day ban on demonstrations, press conferences, and other public gatherings from June 28 to July 10, citing security concerns related to the July 7-8 NATO summit.” (06/23/26)
- CA: Law that forbids forced outing of trans students blocked by 9th Circuit
Source: Seattle Times
“California’s effort to shield the decisions of transgender students in public schools from the eyes of prying parents remains on hold this week after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found a state law designed to protect them was likely unconstitutional. … Passed in 2024, the California law known as Assembly Bill 1955 was intended to prevent school employees from notifying parents about a student’s gender expression without their consent. Boosters of the law [note that] it protects vulnerable students from ‘forced outing’ to families who may be hostile to their trans and nonbinary children. Opponents [pretend] it compels schools to ‘mislead’ parents about their children and leaves them ‘shut out’ of critical decisions.” (06/23/26)
- Lithuania: Regime steps down after coalition reshuffle
Source: ABC News
“Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė and her cabinet stepped down Tuesday after changes to the ruling coalition, setting the stage for the Baltic country’s third prime minister in two years and an incoming government that has pledged to pursue a more pragmatic relationship with China after years of strained ties. Ruginienė’s government collapsed after the center-left Social Democrats ended their coalition agreement earlier this month with the scandal-ridden populist Nemuno Aušra party as one of its former leaders faces allegations of antisemitic rhetoric.” (06/23/26)
- Gold and silver tumble as rate-hike fears hit precious metals
Source: CNBC
“Gold and silver tumbled on Tuesday, as a global sell-off in tech stocks stoked by fears of higher interest rates spilled over into metals. Gold futures fell 1.5% on Tuesday to $4,142 an ounce, while silver futures tumbled over 5% to $61.80 an ounce, before paring some losses to settle around $62.25. Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war on Feb. 28, gold’s reputation as a safe-haven asset in times of turmoil has come under pressure as some of the drivers behind its ascendance have been called into question. An unexpectedly hawkish Fed meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh last week boosted expectations for a year-end interest rate hike, further pressuring gold prices, as the prospect of higher interest rates tend to weigh on the non-yielding precious metal.” (06/23/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/23/gold-silver-rate-hike-fears.html
- UN report: Israel’s targeting of Palestinian children establishes “genocidal intent” in Gaza
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Israel is deliberately targeting Palestinian children in what has become a key factor in an ongoing ‘genocide’ in Gaza, United Nations investigators charged on Tuesday, in a report slammed by Israel. The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry said it had found evidence that ‘Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli security forces.’ This, it said, was a key factor in establishing ‘the genocidal intent of the Israeli authorities and security forces to destroy the larger Palestinian group in Gaza.’ … Israel, which has long been harshly critical of the commission, slammed the report as ‘defamatory’ and a ‘libellous sham.’ It accused the investigators of ignoring ‘the brutal tactics of Hamas, which ruthlessly attacks Israeli children and uses Palestinian children as human shields.'” (06/23/26)
- SCOTUS: Rastafari man can’t sue Louisiana prison officials who cut his dreadlocks
Source: SFGate
“The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs. The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of inmates does not permit lawsuits for money damages against individuals even when rights are violated. The high court, in a 6-3 decision, agreed with lower courts that without exception had ruled that the law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, can’t be used to hold those who violate inmates’ rights financially responsible. The justices refused to apply the rationale from their decision in 2020 that allowed Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI’s no-fly list under a sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” (06/23/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/supreme-court-rules-rastafari-man-can-t-sue-22316721.php
- SpaceX stock tumbles 16.4%, shaving off most IPO gains since debut
Source: Yahoo! Finance
“SpaceX stock fell before the bell on Tuesday, set to pick up on a three-day run of losses after a massive run-up following its IPO earlier this month. The company also confirmed its first-ever bond issuance in a filing. Shares in the Elon Musk-led company pulled back nearly 3% in premarket, on the cusp of dropping below $150 apiece.” (06/23/26)
- Australia: “Ballista” spider discovered that uses spring trap to capture prey
Source: BBC News [UK State Media]
“A new species of spider which weaves a catapult-like silk trap to snare a single type of ant has been discovered in the remote rainforests of northern Australia. Researchers believe the nocturnal predator developed the unique hunting method to make meals of aggressive ants which are notoriously dangerous – and unusual – prey for arachnids. The snare’s ‘exceptionally high power’ flings the ant into a bigger web at ’15 times the most extreme g-forces experienced by jet pilots,’ said lead researcher Prof Ajay Narendra. Though it is yet to be formally named, scientists have nicknamed the tiny spider ‘ballista,’ after the ancient weapon used to hurl stones in battle. ‘The snare mechanism seems to have evolved as a highly specialised way of allowing the spider to ‘pick off’ potentially hazardous prey one at a time and transport them a safe distance away from ant trails and nests,’ researcher Dr Jonas Wolff said.” (06/23/26)
- Kelo’s Legacy: 21 Years of Economic Development Failures
Source: Independent Institute
by Edward J López“This week marks the 21st anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Kelo v. City of New London. This landmark case allows local governments to take private properties by eminent domain, then transfer those properties to developers to promote economic development. Urban planners describe eminent domain, if used correctly, as a tool that can promote blight abatement, job creation, and tax base expansion. The Court did not express agreement with this in its ruling, but it said that as long as a local government’s plan for economic development was crafted through an open democratic process, then using eminent domain for economic development serves the public and is therefore legal. Taking homes and businesses by majority vote. If this strikes you as an idea ripe for unintended consequences, that’s because it is. Since Kelo, local governments across the country have advanced creative notions of public purpose.” (06/23/26)
https://www.independent.org/article/2026/06/23/legacy-kelo-years-economic-failures/
- War Isn’t Won on “Points”
Source: Eunomia
by Daniel Larison“Matt Kroenig has wanted the U.S. to attack Iran for more than a decade. Now that he got the war he wanted and it failed, he is reduced to arguing this: ‘To be sure, the United States did not register a knockout punch against the Islamic Republic, but to continue the boxing metaphor, it did win on points.’ War isn’t a sport, and there is no winning on ‘points.’ The ghouls that cheered this war on treat war as if it were a video game where you get more ‘points’ with every person you kill or maim. How many ‘points’ did the U.S. get from massacring the innocent schoolgirls in Minab with missiles? If the U.S. won, as Kroenig insists, what did we win? What does the U.S. have now that it didn’t have before?” (06/23/26)
- Trump’s second term is a murky, embarrassing and costly spectacle
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Jonah Goldberg“Every time I get asked by a TV anchor what I think about the drama of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, my favorite ‘historical’ headline from the Onion comes to mind: ‘World’s Largest Metaphor Hits Ice-Berg’ And every time I do, I hear from defenders of the Trump administration complaining about the disproportionate media coverage of what should be a very minor story in the grand sweep of things. They have a point. … I can think of scores of stories that deserve more attention on the merits. But there are two problems with this complaint. First, it was Trump who invited extensive scrutiny of the effort. … Second, there’s the metaphor-on-the-Mall problem. The Reflecting Pool is a microcosm of nearly everything that vexes people about the second Trump term.” (06/23/26)
- The Iran War won’t kill dollar dominance. But Washington might.
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Sam Fraser“Even if the framework agreement to end the U.S.-Israel-Iran War is successful, economic fallout from the conflict will persist at least through the end of the year. And the consequences for the global economic system — particularly the centrality of the U.S. dollar and its dominance of the oil trade — may be more far reaching. Analysts have suggested that the war may spell the end of the so-called petrodollar, or alternatively that it could bring about an era of renewed dollar dominance, or that really, the petrodollar ceased to be a meaningful driver of U.S. monetary hegemony decades ago. The latter vein of analysis is largely correct.” (06/23/26)
- When Congress Waged War on Cheap Groceries
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jeffrey L Degner“One of my earliest memories growing up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, was a visit to the bakery at the A&P grocery store at 5800 Gull Road. It was one of a handful of places my parents could afford to shop at in the midst of the great stagflation of the 1970s. My mother made amazing birthday cakes for us as kids, and I presume she was there for some ideas. I had other things in mind. They gave away free ‘donut holes’ to kids who were presumably well-behaved, leading to my temporarily angelic behavior whenever we went there. Little did I know then, A&P was once regarded as a retail behemoth. A monopoly needing to be cut down to size. Their crime? Volume discounts. This allegedly nefarious practice was at the center of anti-chain-store sentiment that reached a fever pitch with the passage of the Robinson-Patman Act in 1936.” (06/23/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/when-congress-waged-war-on-cheap-groceries/
- Don’t Forget the Broader Context of the Iranian Memorandum
Source: American Greatness
by Victor Davis Hanson“The tentative ‘memorandum of understanding’ with Iran has caused glee on the Left and furor among many on the Right. The Left might welcome ‘peace,’ but surely not as much as it enjoys infighting on the Right over the details. If last week Democrats were calling Trump a fascist warmonger, now they deride his peace efforts as those of a Neville Chamberlain patsy. Within 24 hours, the Left’s talking points shifted from a mad bomber-style Curtis LeMay in the White House to an impotent appeaser. A week ago, some Republicans were arguing that not one of the prior seven presidents had dared to use force to stop Iran’s nuclear program. Now some of them are deriding him as an Iranian enabler.” [editor’s note: Poor Vic never seems to handle the failures of his approved schemes very well – TLK] (06/23/26)
https://amgreatness.com/2026/06/23/dont-forget-the-broader-context-of-the-iranian-memorandum/
- Interpreting Epidemic Curves: The Big Picture
Source: Brownstone Institute
by Michael Tomlinson“If there is one thing we have learned since 2020 it is the power of confirmation bias. The public health establishment has presented a mass of data and analysis to show that it was right all along about the Covid-19 pandemic and saved millions of lives. This finding has been accepted at face value and incorporated into policy, but rests on shaky foundations. We need to look at the big picture. Apologists for vaccination generally use point-to-point comparisons – they pick an arbitrary date near the peak of the epidemic curve and compare it to a later date to show that an intervention is correlated with a reduction in infections or mortality. This is open to case-counting window bias and immortal time bias – another selection of dates could yield an entirely different result.” (06/23/26)
https://brownstone.org/articles/interpreting-epidemic-curves-the-big-picture/
- Thomas Massie Leads the Republican Revolt Against Trump’s Iran War
Source: Libertarian Institute
by José Niño“No War Powers Resolution has ever successfully survived a presidential veto in U.S. history. The vote is therefore largely symbolic but politically potent as a sign of fracturing GOP unity. And for Massie, an outgoing congressman with nothing left to lose, it represents a final stand for the constitutional principle he spent his career defending. Massie’s resolution will almost certainly die in the Senate or fall to a presidential veto, not because the constitutional argument is weak but because the bipartisan addiction to executive war-making is stronger than any single congressman’s principles.” (06/23/26)
- Colombians want security, with rule of law
Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff“This month has seen two tightly contested runoff elections in South America. The results from Peru’s poll, held more than two weeks ago, are still not official – but indicate a razor-thin margin of 35,000 to 40,000 votes for the conservative candidate. The count of Sunday’s vote in Colombia has been much quicker, showing a win for right-wing political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, by a 1% margin over his rival. In the wake of highly polarizing campaign rhetoric, some observers might see the results as confirmation of a deep, irreconcilable divide within the electorate. But, viewed through a different lens, the results point to the virtually equal desire among citizens for safety and rule of law – as well as policies that offer pathways out of poverty and high economic inequality.” (06/22/26)
- The Secret Origins of “Conspiracy Theory”
Source: Reason
by Jesse Walker“A new book shows how a phrase made its way from the crime pages to our political arguments—and picked up a passel of meanings along the way.” (06/23/26)
https://reason.com/2026/06/23/the-secret-origins-of-conspiracy-theory/
- Democrats Declare War on School Choice
Source: Town Hall
by Stephen Moore“Why are Democrats and their teachers’ union masters trying to shoot down parental choice in education even when we now have so many examples of these programs working? Choice and competition are two of the hallmarks of the American economy. When stores compete, customers win. Turns out this is also true for schools. That’s an inviolable law of economics. A corollary is that monopolies tend to put customers last. This is all happening at a time when public monopoly schools are showing flat or negative performance despite more funding than ever before. This is one reason why so many states are turning to the new model of school choice, with public funds going to scholarships and charter schools, and tax incentives for charitable donations to private and Catholic schools.” (06/23/26)
- JD Vance Infuriates the Neocons
Source: The American Conservative
by Jack Hunter“The vice president is putting Israel in its place and making all the right people mad.” (06/23/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/j-d-vance-infuriates-the-neocons/
- Blaming Ordinary People For The Ecocidal Consequences Of AI
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“I just saw an article in The Conversation titled ‘Your AI habit is wasting precious resources. Here’s how to use it responsibly,’ and it pisses me off because you can already see where this is going. Neoliberalism is already doing that thing where they shift all the blame for the environmental consequences of ecocidal capitalism to the individual consumer, like how they told everyone to ride bikes and recycle instead of regulating the corporations who are actually destroying our biosphere. There are plenty of reasons why we should all avoid using AI, but the push to offload all the responsibility for the ecological consequences of data centers onto individual users instead of just regulating AI companies is typical capitalist power-serving bullshit.” [editor’s note: Is there a moral panic Johnstone WON’T jump on and ride hard? – TLK] (06/23/26)
- A Schematic History of Universities
Source: ProSocial Libertarians
by Andrew Jason Cohen“In my last post I discussed Early Twenty-First Century Universities. They involve 6 groups of participants, several of which are primarily involved because of ancillary provisions. The sort of college I favor—what I think of as the classic model—is different. To understand that, I here lay out an idealized and schematic history of the university system. In another post, I will discuss what I think universities should be.” (06/23/26)
https://prosociallibertarians.substack.com/p/a-schematic-history-of-universities
- A Healthy Constitutional Squabble
Source: Law & Liberty
by James Valvo & Ryan Mulvey“The Presidential Records Act (PRA) has lately been a source of controversy. The Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) published an opinion at the beginning of April that concluded the PRA is unconstitutional because it ‘exceeds Congress’s enumerated and implied powers’ and ‘aggrandizes the Legislative Branch at the expense of the constitutional independence and autonomy of the Executive.’ OLC’s opinion has raised eyebrows. It may even be wrong on the law. Nevertheless, it is good to see the political branches jockeying for position over the constitutionality of one another’s actions. A healthy, antifragile government requires occasional interbranch battles over the structure of our government.” (06/23/26)
- Canada – the Great Northern Threat?
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“Here in the States, the major attention to borders and potential threats has long been the border with Mexico, and the Gulf Coast with access to the Caribbean and all its little island nations. The States’ border with Canada has long been demilitarized – indeed, for pushing 150 years. But in recent years, as Canada has gone more Woke, more Tranzi, and opened the Provinces to mass immigration from not just the Commonwealth but apparently everywhere else? Some people think we need a wall up there, too. (That disgusts us both politically and personally, even more than the idea we must fortify the border with Mexico.) But things are not good – and the Canada we once knew – even the Prairie Provinces – is long gone.” (06/22/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/06/22/canada-the-great-northern-threat/
- Term Limits? OK, But Here’s How To Do Them Right
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“I’m skeptical that term limits, as envisioned by their promoters, would do much to restrain or improve the quality of government, and as a political matter their opponents aren’t wrong when they point out that ‘we already have term limits, they’re called elections.’ … But if we want to give term limits a real try, I have some ideas on the matter. First, the limit should be one term. Second, the term should be fairly short — say, two years. Third, once a person has been elected to a particular office, that person becomes ineligible for election to any other office, and for employment by any branch of the government in question … ever, for life.” (06/23/26)
- Mamdani’s building a machine, and every Democrat may soon have to kiss his ring
Source: New York Post
by John Ketcham“On Tuesday, New York City’s Democratic voters will decide whether Zohran Mamdani controls the future of their party. With equal parts perfidy and chutzpah, Mamdani has broken with party leaders who supported his rapid rise in last year’s mayoral race to endorse three House candidates. Three-decade incumbent Nydia Velázquez, esteemed by progressives and Hispanic voters alike, was the first member of Congress to endorse Mamdani last April. ‘It’s just beautiful to have someone so authentic,’ she gushed in July. With Velázquez retiring from her NY-7 seat, she thought she could count on Mamdani to repay the favor for her chosen successor, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso — a union-backed progressive who isn’t part of the Democratic Socialists of America. But Mamdani, authentic to himself, failed to follow through.” (06/22/26)
https://nypost.com/2026/06/22/opinion/mamdanis-machine-means-every-dem-may-have-to-kiss-his-ring/
- We’ve had the answer for two centuries now
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Tim Worstall“Britain’s problems stem from no one being able to ever do anything. Therefore we’re short of things that have been done. Sorting this out so that more people can do more things seems sensible, for then we’d all enjoy more things that have been done. The New Manchesterism then suggests that government should do all those lovely long term things that markets can’t or don’t and thus will the land of milk and honey return. We do tend to think that the long term isn’t something that politics is going to look to. Not when a Prime Minister with a stonking majority gets – well, likely will – killed off by a chippy northerner after 2 years and how many days is it?” (06/23/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/weve-had-the-answer-for-two-centuries-now
- Leftist Attacks on American “Capitalism”
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“I’m always amused whenever I read some criticism of America’s ‘capitalist’ system by some leftist. Leftists rail against the evils of capitalism and cite American ‘capitalism’ as a prime example of such evil. I’m sure that such leftists are thoroughly confused when they encounter a libertarian. That’s because libertarians also condemn the economic system under which we Americans live. I’m sure that the leftists just don’t get it. How can a libertarian, they think, criticize and condemn America’s ‘capitalist’ system when libertarians are deeply committed to capitalism? The answer is very simple, but one that all too many leftists are loathe to consider: America doesn’t have a genuine capitalist system.” [editor’s note: Actually, it does. What it does not have is a free market system. There’s a difference – TLK] (06/23/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/06/23/leftist-attacks-on-american-capitalism/
- Kansas City Mayor’s Circular Reasoning on Stadium Subsidies
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Patrick Tuohey“Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is talking in circles. The city is suffering under a $55 million operating deficit. The mayor pointed out in a 2023 budget letter that ‘The demands of a City this size in square miles and infrastructure age far exceed affordable options for residents and available resources.’ What to do? The answer is obvious: dedicate more public tax dollars to private corporations. And not just baseball, but women’s soccer, too! Kansas City leaders are once again proposing public subsidies for a sports facility.” (06/22/26)
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 06/23/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Tucker To GOP: ‘I’m Outta Here!'” (06/23/26)
- Rising, 06/23/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave delivers his radar on Elon Musk’s new trillions, and Democrats’ promises to both rein in his wealth and prosecute him once they return to power.” (06/23/26)
- Cato Podcast, 06/23/26
Source: Cato Institute
“What the Declaration Still Has to Say in 2026.” (06/23/26)
https://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-podcast/what-declaration-still-has-say-2026
- Fountainhead Forum, episode 462
Source: Fountainhead Forum
“Chip Joyce on teaching your kids to think and the decline of New York City.” (06/23/26)
- Trump Watch, 06/23/26
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
“Is Trump Now Free of His Iran Tar Baby?” (06/23/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 06/23/26
Source: The New Republic
“Trump Rages Over Reflecting Pool Fiasco—and Arrests Over It Get Darker.” (06/23/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/212187/trump-rages-reflecting-pool-fiasco-and-arrests-get-darker
- Pod Save America, episode 1177
Source: Crooked Media
“Pool Me Twice, Shame On You.” (06/23/26)
https://audioboom.com/posts/8919740-pool-me-twice-shame-on-you